52 Holy Days a Year

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Lord’s Day 1. "Years ago Hughes Old said of those who were claiming the ‘continental’ view of the Sabbath over against that of the [Westminster] Confession, that they must mean the ‘continental Catholic’ view, allowing no disjunction between the Reformed in Britain and those in Europe proper” (Terry Johnson). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

“Lord’s Day 2. God does not forbid our work or pleasure on the Sabbath because He is opposed to pleasure. Rather, He is calling us to turn aside from lesser pleasures in order to seek the greater pleasures He has in store for us in the day” (Joseph A. Pipa, Jr.). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

“Lord’s Day 3. It is not because the divine work is circumscribed by the time [to the Lord’s Day] (for the Spirit works freely), but because the ordinary means by which the business of the soul is promoted, namely, public prayers, and the dispensation of the Word and sacraments, are conferred on that day. Therefore, just as one proceeds to the market, so that food might be provided for the family for the following week, so the Christian Sabbath is, as it were, the market of the soul, on which heavenly nourishment is sought for the coming days” (Andrew Willet, to the pious reader, in Nicholas Bownd). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 4. Market Day of the Soul. #2. “Such is the perverseness of our nature, when God saith labour, we rest; when He saith rest, we labour; yea, we will make it a policy to find labour upon that day which He hath denied us to labour in.... 1. Exod. xvi. 6, ‘cease from gathering manna for this day’; it is mercatura animae, the market day for the soul, wherein are better things than manna to be gathered. John vi. 58, ‘the bread which came down from heaven; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever’; 1 Pet. ii.2, 3, ‘desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby; if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.’” (Lancelot Andrewes, c.1578) “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 5. Market Day of the Soul. #3. “Directions for the Lord’s Day. Make the Sabbath the market-day for thy soul. Lose not one hour, but be either praying, conferring, or meditating. Turn the sermon heard into matter of prayer: instruction into petition; reproof into confession; consolation into thanksgiving. Think much of it on the Sunday, and make something of it all the week.” (John Dod and Robert Cleaver) “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 6. Market Day of the Soul. #4. “The sabbath is the market-day of the soul, the cream of time; this is the day of Christ's rising out of the grave, and the Holy Ghost's descending upon the earth; this day is perfumed with the sweet odour of prayer, which goes up to heaven as incense; this day the manna falls, that angels' food; this is the soul's festival-day; on this day the graces act their part; the other days of the week are most employed about earth, this day about heaven, then you gather straw, now pearl” (Thomas Watson). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 7. Market Day of the Soul. #5. For seeing the Sabbath day is the school-day, the fair day, the market day, the feeding day of the soul, when men purely knowing the use of it, separate it wholly from other days, they shall see how they may recover themselves from sins already past, arm themselves against sin to come, grow in knowledge, increase in faith, and how much they shall be strengthened in the inner man. Wherefore in the book of God, when the Lord will urge the observation of the whole law, He often does it under this one word of keeping the Sabbath” (Richard Greenham). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 8. “When the Sunday is spent, not only in games and pastimes full of vanity, but in things which are altogether contrary unto God, that men think they have not celebrated Sunday, except God therein be by many and sundry ways offended; when men, I say, unhallow in such sort this holy day, which God has instituted to lead us unto Himself, is it any marvel if we become brutish, and beastly in our doings all the rest of the week? (John Calvin). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 9. The observance of the uncommanded holy-days is ever found to interfere with the due sanctification of the Lord’s-day. Adding to the appointments of God is superstition; and superstition has ever been found unfriendly to genuine obedience (Samuel Miller, Presbyterianism, 1835). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 10. And it is certain that he who makes no conscience to break the Sabbath, will not, to serve his turn, make any conscience to break any of the other commandments, so he may do it without discredit of his reputation or danger of man's law. Therefore, God placed this commandment in the midst of the two tables because the keeping of it is the best help to the keeping of all the rest. The conscionable keeping of the Sabbath is the mother of all religion and good discipline in the church. Take away the Sabbath and let every man serve God when he listeth [pleases], and what will shortly become of religion and that peace and order (1 Cor. 14:33, 40) which God will have to be kept in his church? The Sabbath-day is God's market-day for the week's provision, wherein He will have us to come to Him, and buy of Him without silver or money (Isa. 55:1, 2), the bread of angels, and water of life, the wine of the sacrament, and milk of the Word to feed our souls; tried gold to enrich our faith (Rev. 3:18;) precious eye-salve, to heal our spiritual blindness; and the white raiment of Christ's righteousness to cover our filthy nakedness. He is not far from true piety who makes conscience to keep the Sabbath-day; but he who can dispense with his conscience to break the Sabbath for his own profit or pleasure, his heart never yet felt what either the fear of God or true religion means; for of this commandment may that speech of St. James be verified, "He that faileth in one, is guilty of all" (James 2:10) (Lewis Bayly). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 11. "Q. Is Sabbath breaking a very horrible crime? A. Yes; it is a sin against great love, and the source of many other sins; God commanded a man to be stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath; and hath threatened and destroyed nations for the breach of it (Ezek. 20)" (John Brown of Haddington). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 12. “For if those worldly duties (which we are commanded to walk in, and be of necessity required, and without the which the commonwealth cannot stand at all) are then forbidden, when we should attend upon the Lord’s work, because we cannot be wholly occupied in both; much more those things must be given over which serve but for pleasure, without the which mankind may continue, though not so well continue. Because we cannot have the present delight in the use of them, and yet at the same time be occupied in the hearing of the Word, and such other parts of God’s holy worship and service, as He requires of us upon the Sabbath day…. And we must rest from these things so much the more, by how much the works of our recreation are less needful, than the works of our vocation, and yet do more hinder us from the sanctifying of the Sabbath than they. For experience (which is the mistress of very fools) may teach us (and our nature is such that it must needs be so), how much we are moved with delectable things everyone in his kind, some this way, another that; how marvelously they do affect us, how all our senses are taken up with them, and all the parts of soul and body wholly possessed with them, that for the present time none of them can be occupied about the Lord’s work immediately, at least wise as they should be” (Nicholas Bownd). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 13. “[Y]ou can’t expect too much of the people. We should be thankful if they attend church on the Lord’s Day.” This is a common error today of ministers and one that is practiced by many ministers in their work. In the area of Sabbath keeping the average minister of today has simply given up. He keeps quiet; but he is commissioned by God to preach the whole counsel of God and the keeping of the Sabbath must be submitted to the Lordship of Christ just as much as anything else. He should remember that Christ did not eliminate the keeping of the Sabbath. Christ simply placed it where it belonged. He secured it. He placed it under His Lordship. (Matt. 12:7, 8). Leonard T. Van Hom, August 1965. “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2016/01/van-horn-on-wsc-q-61/

Lord’s Day 14. “The reason why the Psalmist appropriated this psalm [92] to the Sabbath is sufficiently obvious. This day is not to be holy, in the sense of being devoted to idleness, as if this could be an acceptable worship to God, but in the sense of our separating ourselves from all other occupations, to engage in meditating upon Divine works. As our minds are inconstant, we are apt, when exposed to various distractions, to wander from God. We need to be disentangled from all cares if we would seriously apply ourselves to the praises of God. The Psalmist then would teach us that the right observance of the Sabbath does not consist in idleness, as some absurdly imagine, but in the celebration of the Divine name” (John Calvin). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 15. “The celebration of set anniversary days is no necessary mean for conserving the commemoration of the benefits of redemption, because we have occasion, not only every Sabbath day, but every other day, to call to mind these benefits, either in hearing, or reading, or meditating upon God’s Word. ‘I esteem and judge that the days consecrated to Christ must be lifted, says Danæus: ‘Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel.’” (George Gillespie). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel.” (Danaeu) “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 16. “Consider, Christian. As you gather with the saints today, you get a foretaste of heaven. The foretaste is not the thing itself, but is intended to draw us to the thing itself. But if you don't like the foretaste, perhaps you're not one of those being prepared for the thing itself” (Benjamin Shaw). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 17. “The Lord's Day is a sacred command and a gracious gift, a holy duty and a great joy” (Jon D. Payne). The pastoral theology of the puritans such as Richard Greenham and Nicholas Bownd revolved around the means of grace (word preached, read; sacraments; prayer, etc.) and the “great means of the means,” the avenue or instrument, whereby all these means of grace are made available to the people of God is the weekly gatherings on the Christian Sabbath or Lord’s Day (Cf. Introduction, Bownd, True Doctrine of the Sabbath, p. xxxv). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 18. “God did not permit His people to choose out to themselves the day and time, in which they should come together to worship Him, but He would have them to keep that day, which He had blessed and sanctified from the beginning of the world.” (Jerome Zanchius). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 19. “[T]they have not acted incorrectly, who have abolished all [‘holy’] days except ‘the Lord’s Day’” (Jerome Zanchius). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 20. “The substance of this commandment, as it appertains unto us, and is confirmed of Christ, is not that we should sanctify the seventh day, but the Sabbath, or day of rest, which soever it be: and by this means we also keep this commandment, whiles we keep holy the Lord’s Day; because this is the Sabbath and day of rest to us, as the seventh day was to the Jews.” (Jerome Zanchius). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 21. “Man was made to worship God; for as when all other things were created, on the sixth day God made man, to signify that all things were made for man. So when man was made, then by and by He sanctified the seventh day, and commands that He should be worshipped in it, that we might know that we are made to worship God. Zanchius cited in Bownd, p. 55. (Jerome Zanchius). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 22. Psalms 118:24. This [is] the day [which] the Lord hath made. “Famous and remarkable for the above events. Meaning either the day of Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem, in order to be delivered up to the Jews, and suffer and die in the place of His people; to which the following words agree: or the day of His resurrection from the dead; when God gave Him glory, and was matter of joy to those for whose justification He rose; or the Lord’s day, kept in commemoration of it: or rather the whole Gospel dispensation, made a bright day by the sun of righteousness; and which is the now present day of salvation; we will rejoice and be glad in it; because of the blessings of grace, peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation, which came through the humiliation and exaltation of Christ, and are published in the everlasting Gospel” (John Gill). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 23. Psalms 118:24. This is the day which the Lord hath made. “so, (1.) Here is the doctrine of the Christian sabbath: It is the day which the Lord has made, has made remarkable, made holy, has distinguished from other days; he has made it for man: it is therefore called the Lord’s day, for it bears his image and superscription. (2.) The duty of the sabbath, the work of the day that is to be done in his day: We will rejoice and be glad in it, not only in the institution of the day, that there is such a day appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ’s becoming the head of the corner. This we ought to rejoice in both as his honour and our advantage. Sabbath days must be rejoicing days, and then they are to us as the days of heaven.” (Matthew Henry). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 24. Psalms 118:24. This is the day which the Lord hath made. “The “queen of days,” as the Jews call the Sabbath. Arnobius interprets this text of the Christian Sabbath; others, of the day of salvation by Christ exalted to be the head cornerstone; in opposition to that dismal day of man’s fall” (John Trapp). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 25. Psalms 118:24. This is the day which the Lord hath made. “We by no means wish to confine the reference of the passage to the Sabbath, for the whole gospel day is the day of God’s making, and its blessings come to us through our Lord’s being placed as the head of the corner. We will rejoice and be glad in it. What else can we do? Having obtained so great a deliverance through our illustrious leader, and having seen the eternal mercy of God so brilliantly displayed, it would ill become us to mourn and murmur. Rather will we exhibit a double joy, rejoice in heart and be glad in face, rejoice in secret and be glad in public, for we have more than a double reason for being glad in the Lord. We ought to be specially joyous on the Sabbath: it is the queen of days, and its hours should be clad in royal apparel of delight” (Spurgeon) “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 26. “t is an evil thing to profane the Sabbath day. I use the word Sabbath, not as intending to speak of, or to give any countenance to the observation of the Jews’ Sabbath (now); but as purposing to speak of the Christian Sabbath, and to take in [under that term] that only of the Jews’ day, which sometime belonged to it in the general nature and notion of a Sabbath, and with respect to that observation of a Sabbath, which (being prescribed in the Fourth Commandment) belongs to every Sabbath of God’s appointment. Nor do I (while I make use of the name [Sabbath]) deny the Lord’s day to be the more evangelical name; but I call it a Sabbath, because it will never be the Lord’s day, unless it be a Sabbath day, that is, it will never be a day of holy rest, unless it be a day of rest, which the word Sabbath signifies” (William Thomas, from Practice of Piety [1662], wherein he says, due to the pending great ejection, August 24, 1662, he penned the work for his people not having long to be their minister, among whom he labored so long; died 1667, age 74). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 27. “On this Sabbath Day, remember: Christ our Passover has been slain; we have been relieved of the leaven of sin; Christ, the firstfruits, has been raised from the dead; the Spirit has been poured out upon upon us; the gospel is trumpeted forth; Christ has atoned for all the sins of all his people; and Christ will provide for us throughout this wilderness journey, until we reach the promised land. These things we celebrate, not just once a year, but every Sabbath Day” (Ben Shaw). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 28. “Resolved, That the proper observance of the Christian Sabbath is essential alike to the purity and progress of the church, and to the prosperity of the state. A church without the Sabbath is apostate; a people who habitually desecrate this divine institution have abandoned one of the grand foundations of social order and political freedom” PCUSA General Assembly (1854). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 29. Arguing from the greater to the lesser, “If honest labour be forbidden, much more honest recreations; for recreation is but the means to prepare and fit men for labour; therefore if labour, which is the end of recreation, be forbidden; much more recreation, which is but the means to labour” (Cawdrey and Palmer). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 30. “No wonder Antinomians destroy the fourth Commandment, they destroy the other nine, and all the letter of the Bible, as fleshly, and a killing Letter. I believe the Lords day is moral and perpetually moral till Christ’s coming, from Genesis 2:2; Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12; Matthew 24:20; John 19:42; Luke 24:56; 1 Corinthians 16:1; Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10” (Samuel Rutherford). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 31. “A Sabbath of worldly pleasure and amusement has no place assigned to it under Christianity” (James Gilfillan). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 32. “The Lord’s day, though a moral and divine institution, and generally acknowledged in the Churches of Christ, to be the key of religion, and that ordinance which keepeth all the rest in life and being, by separating us one day of every week from the world and worldly business, to be solemnly set apart and exercised in religious duties, chiefly those that concern the public worship of God, in the public assemblies of his people; yet is by many of the sectaries of this time also cried down, and the keeping thereof slighted and opposed; which being added to that natural averseness and enmity that is in the hearts of all carnal and profane men (the number of which in all quarters of our land is not small) unto the giving or keeping a day unto the Lord, threatens no small danger unto this most necessary and divine institution, and to the public worship of God” (James Guthrie). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 33. “What is more like to take with [please] worldly-minded men, and wanton persons, and libertines, than this, that all days are alike, and that the Lord’s day is but a device of man, and a yoke, and a bondage upon the necks of the disciples, from which they ought to deliver themselves? this being one of the things which carnal hearts do most desire and hunt after. When carnal liberty getteth conscience upon its side, and carnal licentious practices get under the shadow of religious opinions, they do then wax bold as lions, and tear in pieces the precious truths and commandments of God that stand in their way. And this is like to prove in the matter of the Lord’s day” (James Guthrie). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 34. “It is a true observation which some have made, that the streams of all religion run either deep or shallow, according as the banks of the sabbath are kept up or neglected. Profanation of the sabbath is sin for which God often contends with a people. The impiety of mankind, and their rebellion against God, appear in the contempt so generally shown to His command of hallowing the sabbath” (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 35. “The degree of strictness with which this ordinance [of the sabbath] is observed, or the neglect shown towards it, is a good test to ascertain the degree of spiritual religion in any land. And as this matter is connected with the national peace and prosperity of every land, as well as of Judah, we have need to take heed to ourselves. Let all who possess authority and influence use it, and by their own example, by attention to their families, let them strive to check the progress of this evil, that true religion may be revived, reformation promoted, national prosperity preserved, and above all that souls may be saved” (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 36. “It is easy to demonstrate by Scripture and argument, as well as by experience, that religion is just as the Sabbath is, and decays and grows as the Sabbath is esteemed: the immediate honor and worship of God, which is brought forth and swaddled in the first three commandments, is nursed up and suckled in the bosom of the Sabbath” (Thomas Shepard). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 37. “I commend for your consideration the following reasons for loving the Lord’s day: 1. Because it is the Lord’s Day.—’This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice, and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24). ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day’ (Rev. 1:10). It is His, by example. It is the day on which He rested from His amazing work of redemption. Just as God rested on the seventh day from all His works, wherefore God blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it; so the Lord Jesus rested on this day from all His agony, and pain, and humiliation. ‘There remaineth therefore the keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God’ (Heb. 4:9)” (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 38. 2. “The Lord’s Day is His property, just as the Lord’s Supper is the supper belonging to Christ. It is His table. He is the bread. He is the wine. He invites the guests. He fills them with joy and with the Holy Ghost. So it is with the Lord’s Day. All days of the year are Christ’s, but He hath marked out one in seven as peculiarly His own. “He hath made it” or marked it out. Just as He planted a garden in Eden, so He hath fenced about this day and made it His own.” (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 39. 3. “This is the reason we love it [the Lord’s Day], and would keep it entire. We love everything that is Christ’s. We love His Word. It is better to us than thousands of gold and silver. ‘O how we love His law! it is our study all the day.’ We love His house. It is our trysting-place with Christ, where He meets with us and communes with us from off the mercy seat. We love His table….” (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 40. 4. “This is the reason we love it [the Lord’s Day], and would keep it entire.” “… We love His table. It is His banqueting-house, where His banner over us is love—where He looses our bonds, and anoints our eyes, and makes our hearts burn with holy joy. We love His people, because they are His, members of His body, washed in His blood, filled with His Spirit, our brothers and sisters for eternity.” (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 41. 5. “This is the reason we love it [the Lord’s Day], and would keep it entire.” “And we love the Lord’s Day, because it is His. Every hour of it is dear to us—sweeter than honey, more precious than gold. It is the day He rose for our justification. It reminds us of His love, and His finished work, and His rest. And we may boldly say that that man does not love the Lord Jesus Christ who does not love the entire Lord’s Day.” (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 42. “No Sabbath, no religion, is a maxim which you may safely apply, both to individuals and to communities” (Ashbel Green). (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 43. “Let us beware brethren: As goes the Sabbath, so goes the church, as goes the church, so goes the nation. Any people who neglect the duties and privileges of the Sabbath day soon lose the knowledge of true religion and become pagan. If men refuse to retain God in their knowledge; God declares that He will give them over to a reprobate mind. Both history and experience confirm this truth” (PCUSA GA 1948). (Robert Murray M'Cheyne). (Matthew Henry, on Jeremiah 17:19–27). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 44. “Cursed is that gain, cursed is that recreation, cursed is that health, which is gained by criminal encroachments on this sacred day” (Christopher Love). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 45. The Sabbath day (last week day in the OT, now the first day or Lord’s Day in the NT, WCF 21.7), “is not to be reckoned among the figures and ceremonies of the Jews, both because it was ordained in paradise before the fall of man for the worship of God, and also it is commanded in the Decalogue, which contains in it nothing ceremonial, nothing typical, nothing to be abrogated.” (Johann Wolf, cited in Nicholas Bownd). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 46. “Good morals cannot ‘persist’—not even according to nature itself—among human beings who do not observe and sanctify to the Lord one day out of seven” (Franciscus Junius). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 47. “If we possess any measure of the true spirit of devotion, this sacred day will be most welcome to our hearts” (A. A. Alexander) “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 48. “It is not too much to say that the prosperity or decay of organized Christianity depends on the maintenance of the Christian Sabbath” (J.C. Ryle). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 49. “I have found by a strict and diligent observation, that a due observation of the duty of this day [the Lord’s Day], hath ever had joined to it a blessing upon the rest of my time; and the week that hath been so begun hath been blessed and prosperous to me; and on the other side, when I have been negligent of the duties of this day, the rest of the week hath been unsuccessful and unhappy to my own secular employments; so that I could easily make an estimate of my successes in my own secular employments the week following, by the manner of my passing of this day: and this I do not write lightly or inconsiderately, but upon a long and sound observation and experience” (Matthew Hale, Directions Touching the Keeping of the Lord's Day, Four Letters of Sir Matthew Hale to His Children, Letter 1. Contemplations, moral and Divine (1695), 1.304). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 50. “A Sabbath well spent brings a week of content, and strength for the toil of the morrow, but a Sabbath profaned, whate’er be gained, is a certain forerunner of sorrow." (poetical rendering by unknown of Matthew Hale's letter to his children on keeping the Lord's Day). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 51. “But we have enough in Scripture for God’s own day, the Lord’s day; it is appointed by God himself to be a day of thanksgiving for the birth, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and for the whole work of our redemption: but man, out of his pride, will have another day, and so set his post by God’s post; he thinks it is not honour enough to Christ to put the celebration of his birth, death, resurrection, ascension, all together in one day; no, he thinks it conduces more to the honour of Christ to have several days, one for his birth, another for his resurrection, and another for his ascension; whereas God hath put all into one, and would have his Son honoured by the observation of that one day” (Jeremiah Burroughs). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Lord’s Day 52. “The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote this law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?” (D.L. Moody). “Christ is born, is circumcised, dies, rises again for us every day in the preaching of the Gospel” (Danæu). “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).
 
God does not forbid our work or pleasure on the Sabbath because He is opposed to pleasure. Rather, He is calling us to turn aside from lesser pleasures in order to seek the greater pleasures He has in store for us in the day

I have just begun to read through the list and I will save the rest for the Lord’s Day tomorrow, but this quote I am going to submit to memory right now as the topic of giving up earthly entertainment comes up a lot in discussions.
 
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